Apparatus for making pleated curtains



Nov. 10, 1953 H. BENDER APPARATUS FOR MAKING PLEATED CURTAINS Filed Dec. 10, 1949 All,

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Patented Nov. 10, 1953 APPARATUS FOR MAKING PLEATED CURTAINS Harry Bender, Lawrence, N. Y., assignor to Home Curtain Crp., Far Rockaway, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 10, 1949, Serial No. 132,376

2 Claims.

fhis invention relates generally to the curtain and drapery art and more particularly to curtain or drapery construction in which the article is composed partially or wholly of thermoplastic heat fusible material and is permanently pleated.

I-Ieretofore it has been necessary, in order to obtain a desirable draped appearance of the article as hung, to manually form the pleats at the curtain rod or to actuate devices on the curtain or drapery for this purpose. While it has been known to produce pinch pleats, these have required complicated hand work and stitching so that because of the considerable cost involved, use was limited.

It is therefore among the objects of the present invention to provide novel pinch or other pleated curtain or drapery construction which may be accomplished in a rapid and efficient manner at low cost, with a consequent wide distribution and use.

Another object herein lies in the provision of structure in which the pleats are of predetermined size, spacing and positioning and to which dimensions they are permanently maintained.

These objects and other incidental ends and advantages will more fully appear in the progress of this disclosure and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

Figure l is a fragmentary view in perspective of a curtain or drapery showing an embodiment of the invention, hung upon a rod.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary rear elevational view.

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevational view showing in detail a portion of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view ShOWil'lg an early stage in the fabrication of the present article.

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 and showing an ensuing stage in the fabrication of the present article.

Figure 6 is a view corresponding to Figure 5 showing a later stage in the fabrication of the present article.

In accordance with the invention the curtain or drapery generally indicated by reference character Ill includes a panel element I I having a top edge I3, a bottom edge I4, side edges I5 and I6, and a rod passage forming element I8. The completed curtain or drapery has a plurality of groups, generally indicated by reference characters 20, 2| and 22, of pleats, and these pleats are relatively sharply and closely formed and are commonly known as pinch pleats, said pleats being indicated by reference characters 23-3I inelusive.

In Figures 1 and 2 the curtain or drapery panel element is shown as having three groups of pleats and it will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention relates that the number of groups may be altered and the number of pleats in each group may be altered without departing from the invention. For purposes of illustration it has been chosen to describe the embodiment shown in which there are three groups and three pleats in each group and since the groups are substantially uniform a detailed description of the central group 2| will suffice for all. Thus as may be best seen in Figure 3 the central pleat 27 is bordered at the rear thereof by a pair of bights 33 and 34 and said bights are welded or heat sealed to the rod passage forming element It by the upper welds I33 and I34 and by the lower welds 233 and 234.

Similarly the pleat 25 lies between the bight 33 and the fold 35 thereby held in place by the upper :eld I35 and the lower weld 235. The pleat 28 is held forwardly of the panel element I I between the bight 34 and the fold 33 which is secured to the rod passage forming element It by the welds I36 and 236. As indicated by reference characters I31, 231, I38 and 238 the welds 135, 235, and I36 and 236, may be continuous with the rod passage forming welds I39, 239, I40 and 240.

The lower ends of the upper welds I 33436 inclusive and the upper ends of the lower welds 233-236 inclusive are spaced from each other a substantial distance. The closer these ends approach each other in juxtaposition, the greater will be the areas along which the pleats are supported in a vertical direction but sufficient distance is necessary in order to permit the insertion and removal of the curtain rod or similar supporting element I2. It is to be noted however that the welds I33-I36 inclusive and the welds 233-236 inclusive do extend a substantial distance in a vertical direction with respect to the panel element II so that a desirable integration of the parts is obtained and the pinch pleats are maintained in a predetermined position.

While reference is made herein to thermoplastic materials it will be understood that the present invention embraces also other materials which are thermo-reactive including incompletely set or polymerized materials frequently referred to as thermo-setting.

While a low cost and highly satisfactory product is obtained when both the curtain and drapery panel and the rod passage forming element are composed. of various flexible sheet artificial resins such as vinyl compound and the like, the invention may be practiced where the rod passage forming element on its forward surface or the curtain panel element on its rear surface in the areas where the two are to be integrated are provided with a film, layer, or coating which has adhesive properties when subjected to heat and/or pressure. Thus where sufficient affinity is provided the welds, junctures or joints herein described may be accomplished without having the entire article composed of the said thermoplastic or thermo-setting ma terials. Said resin of the character described are now fabricated at such low cost that I have produced desirable articles to meet commercial standards where the entire article is composed of such said resins with a consequent fine appearance and durability.

In accordance with the invention the pleated curtain or drapery is produced in a quick, efficient and highly satisfactory manner by the fol lowing method. First the panel element It is placed face down upon a surface M (see Figure l) and following this the panel element is pleated or folded so that the bends therein at the principal plane of the panel lie at an upper level while the pleats lie at a lower level (Figure 5). These pleats are formed by placing the panel element into rare-determinately positioned depressions. Following this the rod passage forming element 18 in the form of an elongated tape is laid upon the panel element H in the area where it is desired that the pleats shall be permanently main-- tained. This position of the parts is shown in Figure 6. Following this the welding or sealing operation is performed and this is accomplished by elevating the temperature of the fusible material in the panel element and the rod passage forming element to a temperature to which they will fuse or weld. A highly desirable method of producing this weld is by using the heat dissipated in fusible materials having dielectric properties. This is accomplished by the application of high frequency electric current. Such current may for example be of a value of 250 volts for each .001 inch thickness of the thermoplastic dielectric material where for example such material is of the commonly known vinyl type. The frequency of the alternating current is preferably approximately niegacycles per second. Satisfactory results may be obtained however over a considerable range of frequencies as for example between 10 megacycles and 300 megacycles per second. The power dissipation in the dielectric should be sufficient to raise the temperature at the fusion area to at least 140 Fahrenheit. The power is applied for a period sufficient to produce adequate bonding and depending upon the variations in the characteristics of the power as noted above, ranges usually between one half to ten seconds.

While I have shown the pleats as being formed downwardly, obviously the position of the parts may be reversed to form the pleats upwardly and to apply the tape or rod passage forming element from below.

In connection with the performance of the herein described methods, it is found to be desirable to form the pleats in the panel element in a consecutive order beginning with the center most pleat and working outwardly toward the lateral side edges (such as the edges I5 and 16) of the panel element or to begin forming the first pleat near one lateral edge and to progressively form the additional pleats in a direction toward the remaining lateral edge of the panel element. This is highly advantageou because it affords a uniformity in the size of the pleats as desired and such progressive formation of the pleats does not subject the material of which the panel element is composed to undue stress. Thus distortion of the pleats is avoided and damage to the relatively thin materials of which the panel element is composed is obviated.

Apparatus for performing the herein described method and producing the present novel curtain and drapery construction is illustrated in Figures 4-6 inclusive of the accompanying drawings. In Figure 4, parts of a well-known press are shown in which the bed 42 is relatively stationary and acts as a bolster or support for the jig M3. The ram 43 may be driven by compressed air, hydraulic pressure, or otherwise in a wellknown manner. A high frequency generator M is connected to the ram head 45 and through the ground 45 or other suitable conductor to the bed 42. The ram head 45, the j M3, and the bed 42 are composed of electrical conducting material. The jig 1 33 is of irregular configuration and when viewed in plan presents the appearance of identical areas with the heat sealed areas disclosed on Figure 3 and indicated by reference characters M3443 and 233-- 245i inclusive. Thus the parts of the jig which form the seals just identified are given the same 0 reference characters with the addition of a sufilx a (Figure i). The jig elements [34a and [33a may be maintained in operative relationship to the remaining jig elements by spacers 47, 33 and i9 and tie rods 5b.

The panel H is pressed down between the jig elements to produce the pleats by a plurality of fingers indicated by reference character 5|. These fingers are independently resiliently mounted by a plurality of springs generally indicated by reference character 52. In their unstressed condition, the fingers 5l are so arranged that the centralmost one is at the lowest level and that the next adjacent fingers are at increasingly higher levels. This construction enables the pleats in the panel element H to be formed progressively, subjecting the panel element II to a minimum of undue stress and distortion. While in the arrangement shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6 the finger 53 supported by the spring 54 leads and forms the first pleat 21 and the next adjacent fingers 55 and 55 follow thereafter, this is by way of a symmetrical arrangement and in the formation of pleats located outwardly of the central group 2| after the pleats 25 and 29 will follow and thereafter the pleats 24 and 30, followed by the pleats 23 and BI. This allows the panel element to be drawn inwardly from the lateral edges ill and I 6 so that the pleats are smoothly and properly formed. This means that the fingers generally indicated by reference character 5| are stepped in arrangement outwardly from the centerrnost one to produce the progressive pleat formation. Thus the finger 56 operates at the same time as the finger 55 and is pressed down by the spring 51. In order to facilitate the movement of the panel across the edges of the members 133a- I3Ba, the edges against which the panel element ll moves are rounded. The springs for the fingers 5| are displaced rearwardly as viewed in Figures 4 to 6 inclusive so that the full pressure of the finger carrier I5| is available to fully seat the same and they are reduced in height so that they do not interfere with the sealing operation that occurs between the surface 4| and the under surface of the ram head 45. In order to properly guide the fingers 51 they may be slidably or pivotally mounted by means not shown so that they will at all times align properly with the spaces in the jig element.

After the rod passage forming element has been fused to the panel element above the fingers 51 the ram head 45 is preferably elevated so that the completed curtain, or drapery ll may be drawn away from the fingers. Thus said fingers will emerge from the openings at the top of the pleat shown in Figure 1. If desired the device may be so arranged and constructed that the fingers may be rearwardly withdrawn longitudinally of said fingers.

While I have shown the fingers 5| as mounted by the springs upon the finger carrier i5! which may be operated by a foot pedal or other power, consecutive or stepped progressive operation of the fingers may be obtained by independently and consecutively actuating the same by mechanical (such as a cam shaft), pneumatic, or hydraulic means.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. Structure for the production of a curtain or drapery having pinch pleats and a rod passage forming element fused thereto comprising: a working surface having at least three depressions therein; a plurality of resiliently mounted fingers for pressing said panel element into said depressions; and a ram head adapted to press the rod passage forming element upon the panel element laterally outward of said depressions; and means to produce heat in said panel element and said rod passage forming element; said fingers being progressively introduced into said depressions starting from the most centrally disposed fingers, whereby the pleats are formed successively, the most centrally disposed pleats being formed before the outside pleats are formed.

2. Structure for the production of a curtain or drapery having pinch pleats and a rod passage forming element fused thereto comprising: a working surface having at least three depressions therein; a plurality of resiliently mounted fingers for pressing said panel element into said depressions, and a ram head adapted to press the rod passage forming element upon the panel element laterally outward of said depressions; and a source of high frequency electrical energy to produce heat in said panel element and said rod passage forming element; said fingers being progressively introduced into said depressions, starting with the most centrally disposed fingers, whereby the pleats are formed successively, the most centrally disposed pleats being formed before the outside pleats are formed.

HARRY BEN'DER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 239,159 Gaussen Mar. 22, 1881 2,041,356 Kraft May 19, 1936 2,116,048 Smith May 3, 1938 2,126,834 Steinberger Aug. 16, 1938 2,173,852 Miller Sept. 26, 1939 2,302,630 Hess Nov. 1'7, 1942 2,314,757 Benedict Mar. 23, 1943 2,410,224 Lepow Oct. 29, 1946 

